The Great American Energy Boom

The looming Iranian oil embargo has heightened the concern of risk to global oil supplies. Meanwhile, energy production in this country is booming.

New research from Citi shows that North America is the fastest growing oil and gas region in the world, becoming the New Middle East by 2020, due to the explosion in supply from deepwater oil, oil sands and shale oil and gas. Pipeline companies TransCanda and Enbridge are already a big part of how and why America is emerging as an energy powerhouse.

Transcanada's controversial Keystone XL project that would take oil from Canada to the Texas Coast, is expected to create $20 billion of economic stimulus to the U.S. during the construction of the pipeline, according to the company. That's in addition to the 140,000 construction, manufacturing, restaurant and hotel jobs — all tied directly to the pipeline.

CNBC

Pipeline race

Enbridge and Enterprise Products Partners announced earlier this week they are pumping $2 billion into building a twin line — along the route of the existing Seaway Pipeline to take oil from the middle of the U.S. to the Gulf Coast.

Enbridge is also, separately, moving ahead with another pipeline from Illinois through Oklahoma to the coast.

Then there are the refiners. Despite low refining margins on the East Coast, which has caused shut downs and idling of facilities, we're seeing increased investment in the mid-continent with Tesoro and Holly Frontier expanding their refineries to process all that overflowing supply.